Global Childhood Report

The Global Childhood Report by UK-based non-profit organisation, Save the Children quotes the following data about India:

• There was an overall improvement in India s childhood index score. India moved up by 137 points i.e. from 632 points in 2000 to 769 points in 2019.
• The share of child brides in India was 30% in 2000 which has come down to 15% in 2016.
• There was a 50% decline in the number of child brides since 2000 and if one goes back to 1990 the decline in child marriages is a staggering 63%.
• As a result of the decline in child marriages, India had 9 million fewer child brides than it would have had if there were no decline in child marriages.
• As a result in of decrease in the child marriage numbers, there has been a decrease in teenage mothers. India s share of teen moms which was as high as nearly 22% in 2000 has halved to less than 11%.
• There is a wide variance in the child bride rates among states. State of West Bengal had the highest prevalence of child marriages, at 25.6%.

Global Findings

• Singapore with a score of 989 has topped the index.
• Sweden and Finland clinched second place and third place respectively.
• South Korea which was tied with Italy at eighth place with a score of 980 is the only other Asian country on the list of top 10 countries.
• Australia ranked 15th, Japan ranked 19th while Malaysia took 71st spot.
• The UK stood at 22nd place, and the US tied with China at 36th.
• 173 out of 176 countries are now doing better at giving their children full and stable childhoods compared to nine years ago, countries with armed conflict and widespread poverty remain at the bottom of the list.

About the Report

The Global Childhood Report which compiles the End of Childhood Index assesses where children are missing out on childhood the most, and scores each country on a scale of one to 1,000.

The index measures the extent to which children in each country experience childhood enders such as death, severe malnutrition, being out of school and shouldering the burdens of adult roles in work, marriage and motherhood.